WALLASEY PAEDOPHILE THOMAS OWEN SENTENCED FOR CHILD ABUSE IMAGES AND SEXUAL OFFENSES IN LIVERPOOL

In July 2013, Thomas Owen, a resident of Wallasey, was sentenced to a seven-year prison term after a thorough police investigation uncovered an alarming collection of over 3.5 million indecent images of children on his computer and associated storage devices. The case drew significant attention due to the sheer volume of illicit material and Owen's disturbing online activities.

Authorities revealed that Owen, aged 33, had engaged in highly disturbing online behavior, including paying for the sexual abuse of a seven-year-old Filipino boy. This heinous act was part of a broader pattern of predatory conduct that investigators linked to his online persona, 'Porkchop91.' The police investigation was triggered when detectives intercepted a web chat conversation between Owen and another paedophile, which was part of an operation targeting the file-sharing platform Gigatribe.

During his arrest, law enforcement officers discovered that Owen’s computer and external hard drives were protected by encryption, complicating efforts to access the stored data. However, the authorities managed to obtain the passwords he had provided, which led to the discovery of an extensive collection of illegal material. Prosecutor Chris Hopkins detailed that Owen’s files contained more than 3.5 million indecent images of children, along with over 16,000 movies, many of which could not be categorized due to their volume and the time it would take to do so.

Owen’s criminal history includes a previous conviction in 2003, when he was sentenced to three years in prison for fondling an eight-year-old boy in South Carolina while working as a volunteer for Camp America. His latest charges included 27 counts of inciting a child to commit indecent acts, as well as making, distributing, and possessing indecent images of children.

During the court proceedings, Owen’s defense lawyer, Zilla Williams, stated that her client was “shocked and surprised by the numbers being talked about but he doesn’t seek to challenge them at all.” She further explained that Owen had paid specific sums of money directly to certain families or individuals, involving at least one child, but emphasized that he had not sold the images. Instead, he had paid for the material for his own use.

Judge Brian Lewis condemned Owen as a “dangerous offender,” emphasizing the severity of his crimes. The judge remarked that while the court regularly deals with cases involving the exploitation of children, Owen’s case stood out due to the exceptional level of criminality involved. As a result, Owen was sentenced to seven years in prison, with an extended license period of three years. Additionally, he was ordered to register as a sex offender for life, underscoring the gravity of his offenses and the ongoing threat he poses to the community.